Pinan katas and Itosu's legacy to karate
Sun 03:24 PST. Posted by staff@riposte.org.
The Pinan kata series (Pinan means ‘peaceful mind’ or ‘peaceful spirit’) are widely taught to students in a variety of shurite karate styles, generally as beginner’s katas. They are attributed to Itosu Yasutsune (1830-1915) who is said to have adapted them from older kata. However from which kata is less than certain. Itosu introduced karate into Okinawan schools, systematised it and simplified older kata to make them easier for children to learn. Some sources suggest that Itosu developed the pinan katas from the katas kusanku dai and Gojushiho. Other sources suggest that Itosu learnt a kata called Channan (Chiang Nan) from a Chinese man living in Okinawa and developed the pinan katas from this.
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